Learn Greek Lesson - 4

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4
Sight and Sounds of Words (Module B)
Consonants, Vowels and Diphthongs
Phonology (Part 4)
Lesson
Four Overview
§4.0
Introduction, 89
§4.1 Phonetic Classification of Greek Consonants, 90
§4.2
The Nine Stop Consonants, 91
§4.3
The Continuant Consonants, 97
Study Guide, 105
§4.0 Introduction
Lessons One and Two introduced the sight and sounds of the individual twenty-
four Greek alphabetical letters and familiarized the student to simple consonant-
vowel and vowel-consonant combinations. Lesson Three laid the foundation for
Greek phonology with introductory terminology concerning the seventeen Greek
consonants, the seven vowels, and eleven diphthongs. Building on this
foundation, Lesson Four organizes the
seventeen Greek consonants into their two
basic phonetic classifications, the stop and
continuant consonants.
Consonants may be classified
as either a stop or a continuant
consonant.
The best phonological approach to these two
basic consonantal classifications is to classify them according to what speech
organ (throat, teeth or lips) is used in their pronunciation. This largely determines
the consonant￿s phonological family to which it belongs, which in future lessons,
predicts what morphological changes Greek consonants will undergo within
words. Whereas the sight and sounds of these Greek consonants have already
been presented in the previous lessons two lessons, their organized
classification has not.
The purpose of this course of study is to prepare anyone interested in verbal
inspiration of Scripture to read the Greek New Testament for himself or herself.
The foundational belief for this is that God chose the Greek language as the
written medium for the saints￿ understanding the New Testament, since all of the
New Testament was written in Greek.
' Dr. William D. Ramey
¤
Phonology (Part 4)
LESSON 4: Sight and Sounds of Words (Module B) Page 90
Consonants, Vowels, and Diphthongs
This Greek course is for the circle of saints who have one thing in common: the
desire to read the Greek New Testament as the original writers communicated.
One would think that many aspire to know the intricate details of God￿s message,
and not to trust something as important to someone else￿s judgment. However,
this is sadly not the case. Perhaps they believe that translations are good
enough, or someone else￿s opinion is correct on the basis they have more
scholarship or sanctity. Nonetheless, dependence and trust is only as good as
the person or object in which it is placed.
What does the foregoing have to do with learning Greek phonology? It has
everything to do with it. Eagerness to acquire a working knowledge of the
language within several years will be met with difficulties that prove dispiriting,
especially if going at it alone. In your enthusiasm of learning NTGreek, you will
naturally tell others what you are learning. In many cases, these same people
will be those who distract￿or even worse￿discourage you from continuing to
study NTGreek for a variety of reasons. Unless your purpose for studying the
language is kept clearly in mind, their persuasiveness will dull your focus, and
inevitably, study of Greek will be cast aside. The Greek New Testament is the
New Testament (making translations irrelevant per verbal inspiration), or it is not!
If you find some portions of this lesson difficult, reread the difficult sections
several times. Spend extra time on these problem areas, but not to an excess. It
may be helpful to remember that competency of NTGreek does not depend upon
learning everything the first time it is presented! Becoming skilled in NTGreek
does, however, demand practice, resolve and perseverance.
§4.1 Phonetic Classification of Greek Consonants
The Greek consonants may be charted to indicate their relationship to one
another in several ways. Perhaps the most functional phonetic classification is
according to what speech organ (throat, teeth and lips) used in their
pronunciation. The consonants are divided in the chart below into two broad
categories: the nine
stops
and the twelve
continuants
, with one consonant
serving double-duty in the latter category (
F f
). They are subdivided again
according to the nature of the sound and vocal organs used in producing them.
The chart should be carefully studied for future reference. It will be referred to in
later lessons whenever consonantal changes in words are encountered. Not
only should the chart be understood from left to right, but also from top to bottom.
Explanations of the terms used in the chart follow (§§4.2 ￿ 4.3).
' Dr. William D. Ramey
¤
Phonology (Part 4)
LESSON 4: Sight and Sounds of Words (Module B) Page 91
Consonants, Vowels, and Diphthongs
Classes are the
three positions of
breath closure.
Classes
The nine ￿stops￿ are divided into
three ￿classes￿ and three ￿orders￿.
S
T
O
P
S
Palatal Dental Labial
O
r
d
e
r
s
(voiced)
F f
F f
C c A a
A a
The orders express both the degree
of the vibration in the vocal cords
and force in the expiratory breath.
Sound is formed by slowing down
or briefly stopping the flow of air
through the mouth.
(unvoiced)
J j
J j
S s O o
O o
(aspirate)
W w
W w
P p E e
E e
Sibilant
(
voiced)
(
unvoiced
)
R r
A sibilant is a hissing sound when
the breath in the mouth is
narrowed. Voiced R r
C
O
N
T
I
N
U
A
N
T
S
R r has the y
sound as the ￿s￿ in ￿is￿; if unvoiced,
R r is the ￿s￿ sound as in ￿sit￿.
R r
R r
Compound
(voiced)
Y y
Compounds are a combination of a
guttural, dental or labial +
r
. Like
sigma
above, notice that Y y
Y y is both
voiced and unvoiced. When
voiced, Y y
Y y
(unvoiced)
B b
Y y X
X x
Y y is pronounced as ￿dz￿.
Nasal
(voiced)
F f
F f
M m L l
L l
The sound of nasal continuants is
forced up toward the nasal cavity
Liquid
(voiced)
K k Q q
K k Q q
The liquids fall between the classes
and the air passage is mostly open.
Semi-
(voiced)
consonants
H h
Q q T t
T t
These letters serve at times as a
vowel or a consonant.
If the above chart is studied now, it will save untold hours of future frustration and
study when, in future lessons, these Greek consonants undergo
predictable
consonantal changes within words. It is your choice whether you will study
diligently now, or suffer defeat and possible insanity later.
4.2 The Nine ￿Stops￿
A
stop
is a consonant whose sound is formed by slowing down or abruptly
stopping the flow of air through the mouth before being released with an
expulsion of breath and sound. The nine stop consonants are
F f
,
J j
,
W w
,
C c
,
Ss
,
P p
,
A a
,
O o
, and
E e
. The stops are classified according to what
speech organ (throat, teeth and lips) predominately operational.
' Dr. William D. Ramey
¤
Phonology (Part 4)
C c
S s
P p
Y y
XX
Y y
M m
h
Q q
h h
LESSON 4: Sight and Sounds of Words (Module B) Page 92
Consonants, Vowels, and Diphthongs
The nine stops are subdivided into three
orders
and three
classes
. The
classes
are
vertically
determined by the three possible positions of breath closure used in
producing them:
palatal
(throat),
dental
(teeth), and
labials
(lips). Stops
belonging to the same class are considered
cognate
; therefore, a cognate
consonant is associated with a particular class.
The
orders
are
horizontally
determined by whether the stop is
voiced,
unvoiced
, or
aspirated
, and consonants that belong to the same order are
considered
coordinate
; therefore, a coordinate consonant is associated with a
particular order. A consonant is
voiced
when the vocal chords vibrate as the air
passes through (all vowels are voiced).
As a simple exercise, please your
fingers on your voice box and
pronounce the voiced stops. You will
feel the vocal cords vibrate if
pronouncing these consonants properly.
Stops are
unvoiced
when the vocal chords are slack in pronunciation.
Aspiration
denotes the consonant￿s pronunciation is accompanied with a strong emission of
breath which results in an ￿h￿ sound.
The relationship between the nine stops may be conveniently represented below
in the chart. This arrangement is commonly called the
Square of Stops
.
Classes
O
r
d
e
r
s
Palatal
Dental
Labial
Voiced
F f
C c
A a
Coordinate
Unvoiced
J j
S s
O o
Coordinate
Aspirate
W w
P p
E e
Coordinate
Cognate Cognate Cognate
The different relationships of the nine stops with one another will now be further
illustrated individually, beginning on the next page. The explanation of the chart
will first move from left to right (differentiating between the three classes: palatal,
dental, and labial), and then from top to bottom (differentiating between their
order: voiced, unvoiced, and aspirate).
' Dr. William D. Ramey
¤
Phonology (Part 4)
Palatals derive their name from the
use of the soft palate (
i.e.
, the roof
of the mouth in their pronunciation).
They are also called velar stops
and (inaccurately) guttural and
throat mutes by some grammars.
A a
O
OO
E e
LESSON 4: Sight and Sounds of Words (Module B) Page 93
Consonants, Vowels, and Diphthongs
The Three Classes
Classes are the three
possible positions of
breath closure.
Palatal Dental Labial
The chart above reflects the three possible positions of breath closure when
pronouncing the stops: palatal, dental, and labial. The progression from left to
right begins with the sound produced in the back of the oral cavity in the throat,
moving toward the front with the tongue and teeth, and finally the lips.
Palatal
Dental
Labial
Voiced
F f
1
C c
1
A a
1
The Three Orders
1. Voiced
2. Unvoiced
3. Aspirate
Unvoiced
J j
2
S s
2
O o
2
Aspirate
W w
3
P p
3
E e
3
A a
.
2. A stop consonant pronounced
without
the aid of the vocal cords is called
unvoiced
. The vocal cords do not vibrate as the air passes through the oral
cavity. The three consonants that belong to this order are:
J j
F f
,
C c
C c
, and
A a
A a
J j
,
S s
S s
and
O o
O o
.
3. A stop consonant pronounced with a
strong emission of breath
is called
aspirate
. The three consonants that belong to this order are:
W w
W w
,
P p
P p
and
E e
. The three aspirates are placed with the stop consonants because when
their phonemic interact with following sounds in words, they behave like stops.
Therefore, these consonants are grouped with and treated as stops.
J j
belongs to the same unvoiced order and
is coordinate with the consonants
S s
and
O o
.
W w
J j
W w
belongs to the
same aspirated order and is coordinate with
P p
and
E e
.
W w
§4.2.1 The Palatal Stops
(
F f
F f
,
J j
J j
, and
W w
W w
)
The palatal consonant stops belong to the same class because they are formed
in back of the throat by the closure of the tongue near or touching the hard palate
in the oral cavity (￿palatal￿ < Latin
pal￿tum
, ￿palette￿). The three palatal
' Dr. William D. Ramey
¤
Phonology (Part 4)
F f
C c
A a
J j
S s
O o
W w
P p
E e
1. A stop consonant pronounced
with
the aid of the vocal cords is called
voiced
.
The vocal cords vibrate as the air passes through the oral cavity. The three
consonants that belong to this order are:
F f
F f
C c
J j
S s
O o
W w
P p
E e
F f
F f
belongs to the same voiced order and is coordinate with the
consonants
C c
and
A a
.
J j
F f
J j
W w
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